By Steve Moxey
The BMW PureXcursion Jacket is a new addition to the BMW Motorrad clothing range as a multipurpose adventure-styled jacket. The jacket uses a waxed cotton/aramid material for waterproofing, bringing back memories of the old Belstaff jackets, plus the usual CE approved armour and a multitude of venting zips. This is a very comfortable adventure style jacket that actually looks good off the bike and is light enough to wear around town or at the cafe. The other jacket I own which has similar characteristics is the Klim Marrakesh Jacket (see Carl Flint’s recent review here). I have covered more than 1,000 miles in both the Marrakesh and PureXcursion jackets and so I am able to make comparisons between the two jackets throughout the review. I should say at the start that this is only one possible jacket comparison, others would be interesting, for example, The BMW PureXcursion versus the Belstaff Crosby. The Marrakesh comes in Black, Olive, Grey and Asphalt (use your imagination!) and the PureXcursion just Brown (there are rumours of an olive green version in 2022). Starting with looks I would award STYLE: PureXcursion 7 : 8 Marrakesh (out of a possible 10).
The outstanding feature of both the Marrakesh and the PureXcursion is their comfort due to their light weight and flexible stretch materials. The Marrakesh is made of an open-weave stretch fabric and the PureXcursion has a very soft wax cotton fabric and stretch panels. Neither jacket is too long which makes a difference as well. I would happily wear either jacket off the bike as they are very comfortable, unlike any other motorcycle jackets I have owned, where the first thing you want to do when you stop is get the jacket off! COMFORT: PureXcursion 8 : 9 Marrakesh.
In terms of storage there are two large outside pockets which are fully waterproof with the fold over flap secured by two strong poppers. I initially thought the fold over waterproof pockets were cumbersome but then I realised I could stow my mobile phone in them, something I would never consider in a simple zip pocket. This then became a great advantage as I could get at the phone when stopped without opening my riding jacket! There is a rear storage pocket which could take a waterproof, and there is a zip breast pocket inside the main venting zip for small items. Inside there are a further two zip pockets so plenty of storage in this jacket. It sounds a bit boring to talk about storage on a jacket after all; when after earplugs, keys, phone, wallet what else could you really need? But on a longer trip the jacket is vital in keeping items near to hand – we can add neck buff, snack, battery for charging, passport, toll ticket etc. In this area the PureXcursion completely outclasses the Marrakesh. The Marrakesh has two outside hand pockets and two chest pockets which you can put keys and wallet in (but not your hands at the same time!) and a strange upper pocket inside. The only useful thing I could put in there was a neck buff! In the Marrakesh’s defence the build quality of the pockets is excellent with very strong zips. I forgot to mention that the PureXcursion has two outside hand pockets as well as the waterproof main pockets so that makes 8 in all. In fact the arms have two further zips that seem to be designed to allow you to remove the elbow armour (not sure this is very useful) and you could stow some small soft items in these areas if you wanted. So JACKET STORAGE: PureXcursion 9 : 4 Marrakesh!
The venting on the PureXcursion jacket is very good. At the rear there is an exhaust vent which is always open and at the front there are two vertical venting zips and two flaps which can be pinned back to open two more venting panels. The icing on the cake is the two small tabs that allow you to hold the vents fully open for maximum airflow in very hot weather.
PureXcursion Venting flaps, zips and tabs
I have not ridden with either the Marrakesh or the PureXcursion on a long trip in hot weather. I purchased the jacket in late August and had one ride at 30C which required about 50% of the venting zips, no tabs and no flaps! I would be confident to use this jacket in very hot conditions where a high airflow is essential for cooling. In comparison the Marrakesh was comfortable at 30C providing you have the right base layer underneath for wicking but at higher temperature I feel the PureXcursion has the edge with greater airflow possible – it is the airflow and evaporation which will keep you cool. I have an old BMW airflow jacket and I would say the PureXcursion betters this as well, time will tell. JACKET HOT WEATHER VENTING: PureXcursion 8 : 7 Marrakesh!
We all love to ride in the sun but rain is always a hazard of motorcycling. There are some who prefer to retire to the garage when inclement weather is on the horizon but I prefer something that can cope with a wide range of situations. I have better touring jackets such as the Aerostitch Darien for real travel; so in the context of the PureXcursion and the Marrakesh we are talking about day rides in the spring, summer and autumn and short trips. The PureXcursion jacket has a wax cotton outer layer so it is water resistant, good for a short shower but continuous rain will get through. BMW sell a very good waterproof liner the Ride Rain Jacket which you could store in the rear pocket. I have a similar liner for my Boulder Jacket which works just as well. The Marrakesh has no waterproofing so when it rains you need to get a Scott rain jacket, if you want to ride for long in the rain you would also need the BMW Ride Rain Jacket. Remember there are NO waterproof pockets on the Marrakesh so in the event of any rain you will be stopping to put on your rain jacket whilst the PureXcursion rider disappears into the distance! JACKET WATERPROOFING: PureXcursion 5 : 0 Marrakesh. (Note if you are planning to buy the Scott/BMW Ride Rain Jacket as well I would score this more closely maybe 5:3, as the PureXcursion does have a storage pocket for the BMW Ride Rain Jacket on the rear!)
We also need to consider the effect of the cold. Here again the PureXcursion scores over the Marrakesh. You cannot turn off the venting of the Marrakesh (it is a property of the fabric), but with the PureXcursion you just pull up the two zips which shut down the venting. I have ridden with the PureXcursion on a 125 mile MeetUp ride where the temperature started at 3C and reached a high of 6C with a heated vest and my Tourshell liner which works very well under the PureXcursion. I was very comfortable. In practical terms if the peak temperature was planned to be above 10C I would happily use the PureXcursion, perhaps starting at 5-7C at the beginning of the ride. Any colder and I would take the Streetguard. For the Marrakesh I would say 16-18C but I would start with a more insulating layer. This is obviously one person’s assessment and some will feel the cold more or less than I do, but the PureXcursion will be warmer and you can regulate the temperature using the vents. JACKET COLD WEATHER: PureXcursion 8 : 3 Marrakesh.
It is difficult to evaluate protection as so much depends on what riding you do and what personal risk you want to take. We tend to ride on roads where the abrasion caused by sliding is only part of the problem. If you come into contact with a static object at 30 mph it does not really matter how much armour you have on. Both Marrakesh and PureXcursion jackets are very well made by respected manufacturers to CE standards. I would be happy to use them for general riding but for more specialised use I would choose more protective clothing.
So with the six categories of STYLE, COMFORT, STORAGE, HOT WEATHER, WATERPROOFING and COLD WEATHER there are a maximum of 60 points on offer. Adding up the scores the totals are PureXcursion 38 : 31 Marrakesh, a convincing win for the PureXcursion? Not necessarily, as you need to look at the use you are going to put the jacket to in detail and everyone is different. If you were going to a lot of short summer rides to cafes the Marrakesh might fit the bill. If you needed to carry lots of odds and ends or wanted to ride through a shower the PureXcursion would be the clear winner. Hopefully this article will help you choose which one is best for you and the good news is both are brilliant jackets; so there are no losers. Whichever jacket you choose it will be very good. At the time of writing the Marrakesh jacket is available from MotoLegends at £370 and the PureXcursion jacket from Bahnstormer Motorrad at £363 (there is also a club discount available). NB If we include the extra costs of the Scott/BMW Ride Rain Jacket this will add a further £80-100 to the cost.
Finally, I think we can conclude that neither of these jackets is really a ‘do-it-all’ jacket, even for three season riding, although the PureXcursion comes closer than the Marrakesh. In theory you could tour on an S1000RR packing your toothbrush and credit card as luggage and you could take a Goldwing on a track day, but in reality most people buy the Goldwing to tour and the S1000RR to take the bends quickly. Most of us tend to have a small collection of motorcycle clothing that is optimised for specific scenarios. For me in winter. it would be the Streetguard, in early Spring/late Autumn, my old Tourshell (more comfortable than the Streetguard), in summer, PureXcursion/Marrakesh, and if I was travelling it would be the Aerostitch Darien. It’s great virtue is the ability to deal with a wide range of conditions from 45C in the Nevada desert to crossing the St Bernard Pass in a snowstorm.
Originally posted 2021-11-29 15:25:01.
